Originally a Chinese appetizer called Hatosi (蝦多士) or shrimp toast, this is a simplified version that makes for a great party canapé. Aside from a little cutting and spreading, they’re simple to prepare and are a tasty finger food that goes well with beer, wine or champagne
Each toast has a layer of crisp sandwich bread on one side, and ginger and scallion flavored minced shrimp on the other. Dipped in sweet Thai chili sauce these shrimp toasts are dangerously addictive!
There’s no need to buy expensive bread, in fact thinner (i.e. cheaper) bread works better because it absorbs less oil while frying and ends up light and crisp. The shrimp and pork spread that goes on top can be done ahead of time and frozen, so you can make a big batch and save the rest for later.
If you’ve exhausted your canapé repertoire between all the holiday parties this month, give these a try for New Years. Unless it’s a kosher party, they’re sure to be a hit!
Ingredients
-
12
thin slices
sandwich bread
-
400
grams
shrimp peeled and deveined
-
115
grams
ground pork
-
1/4
cup
potato starch (halve if using cornstarch)
-
4
scallions (white part only, minced)
-
1
large
egg
-
2
teaspoons
fresh ginger grated
-
1
teaspoon
salt
-
ground white pepper to taste
-
vegetable oil (for frying)
-
parsley minced, for garnish
-
Thai sweet chili sauce for dipping
Steps
-
Put the shrimp, pork, cornstarch, green onions, egg, ginger, salt and pepper in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until it's almost smooth. You may need to scrape the bowl down a few times with a spatula. It should resemble a chunky paste, however there shouldn't be any large pieces of shrimp left. If you don't have a food processor, you can mince the shrimp with a knife and mix everything else together in a bowl by hand.
-
Cut the crusts off the bread (the crust will burn if you leave it on), then cut the bread into four triangles, squares or sticks. Spread about a teaspoon of the shrimp mixture on each piece of bread. Make sure to get the shrimp all the way to the edges or the bread will curl while frying. Press a small piece of parsley into each toast for color.
-
Add about 2 inches of oil to a heavy bottomed pot and heat to 350 degrees F. The oil needs to be very hot, or the bread will soak up excess oil, and the shrimp will get overcooked.
-
Add the toasts, shrimp side down. When the edges of the bread start to brown, flip the toasts over and fry the bread side until it is golden brown. Transfer to a paper towel lined rack with the bread side facing the paper towel to drain as much oil as possible.
-
Serve with the Sweet Thai Chili Sauce for dipping.
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Victoria, yep absolutely, in fact the flavors have a chance to meld better if you make the spread ahead and refrigerate it. You could make it up to a day in advance.
Victoria says
Thanks! One more question, how to you recommend defrosting if I freeze the shrimp mixture?
Marc Matsumoto says
When you freeze it, put it in a sealable freezer bag and press out as much air as possible, shaping the bag into a flat block (you can press it down using the bottom of a pan or some other flat surface. Then just defrost it in the refrigerator. If the mixture releases water while defrosting you can either mix it back in or pour it off depending on how much water gets released.
Victoria says
Thank you! I made a batch tonight and it was u huge hit. These were absolutely delicious!
Dominik MJ says
I know, shrimp toast without shrimp doesn’t make a lot of sense… but I am allergic to shellfish . Is it possible to make them with minced chicken or fish?
Marc Matsumoto says
Depends on the type of chicken you use, but if it’s lean it will dry out. Fish might work better.
Sarah De Souza Hoffmann says
I instantly fell in love with this recipe, but after frying the first 4 pieces I realized the real basic taste and pimped the spread with soy sauce, fish sauce and sesame oil. Then I got rid of 95% of the oil and reduced the heat. After that they turned out great!
Home Plix says
Aww amazing!!! I’ve loved following your blog – your amazing recipes (many of which I’ve tried and loved!), beautiful photos and refreshing writing! I’m looking forward to your new cookbook – what an awesome work! Congratulations!
Margie says
Would love to see a video of how to make shrimp toast as there seem to be many different ways to make it. We never seem to find Shrimp Toast on the menu in Chinese Restaurants anymore, is their a reason for that?
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Margie, I’ve added this onto the long list of recipe videos to make😅 Thanks for suggesting it. As for why it doesn’t show up on restaurant menus much these days my guess is that greasy foods and carbs have fallen out of favor in a lot of places. If you use fresh oil and get it up to the right temperature this isn’t greasy or heavy, but most restaurants reuse their oil for many days and if the temperature isn’t right, the bread will soak up the frying oil like a sponge.